NOV CEO OTC commentary: Focus on new technology

Despite today’s challenging environment, the oil & gas industry must continue to invest in the development of new technologies that will enable our industry to meet the world’s long-term energy needs.

More than any other resource, the abundant energy our industry provides has done more to lift standards of living around the globe; nevertheless, two billion people on this planet still live in energy poverty. The current oversupply of petroleum is steadily disippating, and once it does and this downcycle passes, we will be called upon again to increase supplies for an energy hungry world.

Finding ways to increase access to reserves, and improve the safety and efficiency of oilfield operations is what National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has done since 1862. We foresee “big data” predictive analytics, improved rotary steerable technology and closed-loop drilling automation as promising, impactful technologies that will drive performance in the coming upturn.

We are currently helping our customers improve their business with our RIGSENTRY™ BOP monitoring service that now offers live predictive analytics of subsea BOPs. This predictive feature is powered by MAX™, our industrial data platform and enables us to predict a failure before it happens. The platform captures and harnesses the value of data coming from product sensors and provides a way to collect and organize real-time visibility into the way your equipment works to optimize performance in the field.

The potential that big data offers for condition monitoring and predictive analytics will change the way we support, maintain and design our equipment to deliver better uptime for our customers.

A technology that we are also focusing on is the VectorEdge™ rotary steerable system that provides greater cost-efficiency and increased performance in high-volume rotary steerable markets. The design incorporates legacy NOV technology to achieve accurate and smooth wellbore trajectories without compromising customer control over equipment selection. With multiple push-the-bit configurations and a simple, app-based downlink, the VectorEdge rotary steerable system allows us to offer all the benefits of rotary steerable drilling at a great value in any market condition.

Lastly, we are pioneering new downhole closed-loop drilling automation where data from the bottom of the hole is streamed up on a microsecond basis to the rig and is used to directly drive the rig controls. This provides better well control, sustains wellbore integrity and makes drilling more efficient while reducing well delivery times and improving safety. While using this automation technology, a customer was recently able to reach planned production level with one less well, saving the equivalent of 70 days offshore rig time.

These are just three of our current and ongoing projects that will shape the future of oil & gas. Our industry is a high-tech industry that will continually invest and press forward to find new and better ways of doing things, like developing new technologies that lower the cost of producing oil and gas. We are proud to lead in pioneering new and better ways to drill and are prepared to emerge as an even stronger company in the upturn.